My Walker

Our little Sophs has all the sudden really started to wanted to walk. She does it now from object to object- table to chair- with out being prompted or bribed by the cell phone or remote. Ah, what would we do without the phone or remote? Sophs would never have learned how to crawl or walk with out them. She now really enjoys using her walker- although she is a terrible at steering, so she requires Carl or I to follow along behind her as she is constantly running into walls.
Here is my latest video of her- Warning- do not watch on a full stomach as much shaking occurs. The Blair Witch Project might have nothing on me.

Trials and Tribulations of the Sippy Cup

Upon turning one, all the parent books recommend that you switch formula for milk and stop giving a bottle. This is supposed to be done cold turkey, and apparently babies have no problem with the switch. Well, this seemed rather harsh to me- you turn one and you suddenly have to give up the one thing that has been comforting to you since the day you were born. On the upside, you get a piece of cake. Let me just say- the guide books were wrong. I decided to go slow- I added an ounce of milk to her bottle each week and thought that I would switch her to a sippy cup once she was drinking all milk. The switch to milk, even an ounce at a time, was horrendous. Sophie had a horrid diaper rash for the first 3 weeks- it even cracked and bled, poor baby. And I don't know who these babies are that don't seem to notice or care that they have cow's milk in their bottles, because Sophie let me know- very strongly- that she noticed and cared about the extra ounce. After 5 long weeks though, she is finally drinking all milk. Hooray!

Now the battle to give up the bottle began. I had an inkling that this was going to be a fight as well. The prior weekend we were at the cabin and I forgot her bottle. No problem, i will just put it in her water bottle- exactly like her milk bottles, except it holds 4 ounces instead of 8. She flat out refused to drink her milk from this bottle. I still charged ahead and decided to make the switch to the sippy cup. It did not go well. She refuses to drink from one, no matter what is inside it. Everyone kept telling me to try different kinds, she will find one that she likes. I am now the proud owner of 12 sippy cups that she refuses to drink out of.

I thought that I had a genius idea and decided to try some role playing. I brought out pooh bear, he drank from the sippy, then I drank- all the while she is laughing and smiling- and then I gave it to her- nope. Now I have apparently traumatized my child because even the sight of a sippy cup makes her scream or cry. Perhaps we will skip the sippy cup phase and go from bottle to cup. Hopefully this will happen before kindergarten. If not, good thing she's cute- they can get away with anything.

Happy Mother's Day!

I would like to say that Sophie was aware that it was Mother's Day and decided to sleep in for me, but she was up and at 'em at 6:15. She did however give me the best gift- she took 3 steps! Hooray! Carl and I are so proud of our little muffet that we feel the need to tell strangers about this amazing ability. I am trying to get pictures of her standing and walking, but the camera is so distracting that she immediately stops what she is doing and comes right at it. But I will keep trying!

Sophie on Mother's Day this year-

Sophie on Mother's Day last year. What a difference a year makes!

One Year Updates

We recently had Sophie's one year photos taken. I was very pleased to find a photographer to come to our house to snap the pictures, where we have an endless supply of Cheerios, puffs, and other enticing baby food to keep our little one happy. Here are her current stats:

Height- 30.5 inches- 90%

Weight- 23 lbs-80%- yes, she is taller than she is wide, phew!

Teeth- Still 8, I say still because it seems like she has been teething her back molars forever. Still waiting for those suckers to pop up and make life less painful for everyone.

Sleep- We have entered the good life, Sophie now sleeps from 7:30-7:00. She is still not a very good napper, she takes 2 naps and we are lucky if each nap lasts an hour.

Food- Meals are the highlight of her day, she often cries when the food is gone. Bananas are her favorite food, and she can easily wolf down the entire 'nanner. She often will give me a glare if I try to share her nanner with her. Right now we are trying to wean her off formula, which is proving difficult as she does not like milk. I have been sneaking a little into her bottle everyday, we are now up to 2 ounces of milk per bottle. Sophie now stops drinking from her bottle at the last 2 ounces. We can't really sneak anything past her.

More one year photos:

Mommy's Helper

Now that Sophie is very mobile, she follows me everywhere I go. It is like having a little shadow, a messy shadow who creates mass destruction wherever we go. Good thing she is so darn cute. Right now her favorite thing to do is to take things out of places. Laundry out of laundry baskets, items out of purses or diaper bags, things out of drawers. When I am of positive mind, I like to think she is helping me reorganize. I am lucky to have such a good helper!

Sophie helping in the kitchen. Tupperware is very exciting and fun to put all over the kitchen floor!

Sophie helping me sweep. For the record, I don't get much cleaning done since she is constantly trying to grab the broom. I am thinking of inventing cleaning pads that attach to babies knees, and when they crawl around they magically clean the floor. Yes, I am a genius.

Ah yes, the laundry basket. Sophie loves to help me fold laundry- but she often runs off with a sock in her mouth. We are now missing several, I suspect that she is hiding them in mysterious places that only little fingers can reach.

Happy Birthday!

It's official- Sophie turned one on April 9th. We celebrated in style with balloons, streamers, party hats and, of course, the highly anticipated Birthday cake. Up to this point, I had resisted giving her any type of sugar. Yes, the person who had a whole desk drawer dedicated to all kinds of candy and chocolate somehow turned into her mother upon having a child. (Although I still have chocolate, I now sneak it during nap time). But I digress, the birthday was a great success, and Sophie thoroughly enjoyed her cake- thus proving that she is indeed my child. Here is some pictures of the big event:

Opening presents, she is just starting to figure out what to do- and yes, I did make her wear a birthday crown.

Trying out her new princess car- thanks Uncle Mac and Aunt Emily!

The big moment. She took one finger and tried some frosting, and then went back immediately for a fistful.

One handed feeding proved not fast enough, so she had to use both hands! Yes, we are so proud of her ambidextrous skills.

Here is Sophie using the baby approved method of packing in food with your fist approach.

And finally, Sophie stares at her cake in extreme sugar shock as she ponders whether she should have eaten that last bite.

Happy Easter!

Sophie had a wonderful Easter weekend at the cabin. She got to spend lots of time with her cousins- Vivi, Kyle, and Ellie, and get lots of lovin' from her Grams and Gramps. Sophie had a great time watching the big kids play, and they had a great time watching her cruise around the living room. They were also impressed by how much she ate, and watched in awe while she opened wide for broccoli. This was apparently something they had never seen before. Here are some of our favorite pics from the weekend:

Sophie and Daddy sharing a laugh before church. By the way, the dress was a big hit with the little old ladies at church. She also had on sparkly pink shoes, which they all adored.

We all know that Sophie is a professional passie thief, but she can now add Easter basket thief to her resume. She decided that the big kid's baskets looked much more fun then hers.

Instead of joining in the Easter egg hunt, Sophs decided to sit on the sidelines and eat a plastic egg.

Here is a picture of Kyle playing with Sophs. He is asking her where she wants to go. He soon found out the answer, Grandpa's shoes. Kyle quickly realized that Sophie just can't pass up an opportunity to pull laces, especially with an easy target like Grandpa.

Kyle, Sophs, and Ellie playing in the mirror. A great time was had by all.